My First Bourbon Trail Visit - Part 2

This is the second part of my trip to Kentucky.  To see my first post regarding the beginning of my trip, see here.

Upon leaving the Buffalo Trace distillery, we made our way to Lawrenceburg, KY.  This is home to Wild Turkey.  We purchased tickets ($10 per adult) for the 1PM tour in the visitor center, which is a new, nicely decorated building.  Since we were a bit early for the tour, we thought it was a good time to buy some souvenirs and liquor from the gift shop.  Since most of the items for sale are available in my local mega-liquor store, I decided to purchase a Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye.  I have previously purchased a Russell's Reserve Rye, which I like very much, but have never seen the single barrel variety near me.  The cashier explained that the Single Barrel Rye was non-chill filtered, and had more of a variety between barrels, so the taste isn't always consistent.  I thought "what the heck" and purchased it.  (As a side note, this stuff is AWESOME!  It has a strong bold rye flavor.  It gives you the bite you are looking for in rye, without overwhelming all other flavors.)

At the top of the hour the tour bus came, and we loaded up.  It drove us to the production facility, (as you can see below) and dropped us off in front of the silos that store the corn, rye, and barley.  The tour guide said the corn was local, but in order to get the flavor profile needed in the quantity necessary, they import their rye from Germany.   I'd be interested in knowing if this was the case before they were purchased by Campari.

Grain Storage

Grains fermenting prior to distillation.  Don't breath in the CO2!

The Mega-Still

The Quality Control Room 

Barrels on the Ricks

The bus took us from the main facility to a different site, where the first rickhouse is located.  The rolling hills on the property are quite beautiful.  The company is building additional rickhouses to store bourbon.  Business must be good!  We then toured inside the first rickhouse.  It is at this time where the guide explained the difference between the angel's share (the alcohol that is lost due to evaporation during aging) and the devil's cut (the alcohol that is lost due to absorption into the barrel while aging).  I liked being in the rickhouse; it felt natural and earthy.  Others on the tour found it claustrophobic, or they didn't like the smell.  While leaving, a gentleman wearing a red jacket (who obviously worked there) greeted everybody as we were on our way out back to the tour bus.  It was only after we left the building that our guide explained that we just all said hi to Eddie Russell, the legendary Master Distiller for Wild Turkey.  He was with a group of individuals looking to make a private purchase of a single barrel.  Knowing that I saw Mr. Russell and said hello to him in the ricks (although I didn't know it at the time!) made the experience even more memorable.

The Oldest Rickhouse at Wild Turkey

Inside the Tasting Room at the Visitor's Center

We loaded the tour bus, and it took us back to the visitor center.  We entered and went up the ramp to the upstairs where the tasting room is.  Each participant was given 4 glasses to sample.  The first was (if I recall correctly) Russel's Reserve straight bourbon.  This is 90 proof, and was a nice all around drink.  Next was the Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon, which was 110 proof.  This was too strong for me to appreciate neat.  It likely would have been quite pleasant with an ice-cube.  Next, was the Russel's Reserve 6 year rye, which as I have written above, is a good all around rye.  Lastly, they sampled the Wild Honey product, which is like dessert (too sweet for me).  At the conclusion, you get to take home a rocks glass with the Wild Turkey logo on it.

The Wild Turkey tour was definitely worthwhile.  It showed more of the production process compared to the general tour at Buffalo Trace, but I still found the entire experience very interesting and worthwhile. (My wife and son like the first distillery tour more.)

We left the Wild Turkey campus, and stopped in Lawrenceburg to have some sandwiches at the Heavens to Betsy Bakery.  We then walked down the Main Street to the courthouse, where monuments are still there honoring townsmen who fought and died for the Confederate States of America.  This isn't something those of us in the Free States see everyday.  Interesting to note, not more than 20 feet from this statue is a sign commemorating a female African-American for pioneering service and accomplishments in the military.  History is complex and intertwined in this part of the nation.

Civil War Statue Commemorating those who died for the C.F.A.

The weather started to turn, and it had been a full day, so we made it back to Louisville to the Seelbach Hilton, and had a night cap in the hotel bar.  This time we sampled the Sweet Redemption cocktail, and the Bourbon Ball.  I ordered the Sweet Redemption, which was very good.  My wife ordered the Bourbon Ball; she agreed to have something with whiskey (which she generally won't drink) while in Kentucky.  Her drink was too sweet for her (and me), but she did like mine, so we switched.

The Sweet Redemption

The Bourbon Ball

The next morning we went to our final distillery of our trip, Angel's Envy, in downtown Louisville.  The facility is very new, and tour reservations were required, costing $15 a person.  The facility is quite small when compared to Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey.  The tour in general is very similar to the Wild Turkey one, showing nearly all aspect and stages of production, and storage.  However, on this tour the bottling area was also displayed (but since we were there on a Saturday, we didn't see it in action).

Angel's Envy

Gift Shop / Lobby

Tour Guide

The Copper Still

Finished Bourbon, placed into Port Barrels to age a few months

Angel's Envy is a very good bourbon that is finished in port wine barrels, which imparts an extra-sweetness to the spirit.  I enjoy their rye even more, which is finished in rum casks.  (The sugar from the rum barrels interacts nicely with the spice of the rye.)  The conclusion of the distillery tour comes with the obligatory tasting.  Unfortunately, all that was tasted on my tour was the bourbon.  The experience was quite positive, however.  You are given 1 pour to try neat.  The tour guide instructs you on the proper way to smell, taste, and enjoy the whiskey neat.  You are also given a local chocolate to taste, and then drink the whiskey to see how the flavor changes.  Next, you are given a second pour, with an ice cube, to open up the flavors.  This lesson was useful, but after acclimating to the taste profile from drinking it neat, the first sip of the second pour was good, but the flavors and strength fell apart (became flat/washed-out) for me after that.  Perhaps if there was a big solid cube that was slow to melt it would hold up better.

Upon conclusion of the tasting, there is a clandestine bar that has specialty cocktails to show off the distillery's products.  I had the Falling Apple, as recommended by the people at the bar already.  It was pretty good, not excellent.  I was looking for something more spirit forward, but the drink was well crafted and balanced.

The Menu from the Angel's Envy Bar in the Distillery

Overall, my Bourbon Trail visit was quite enjoyable.  It gave me insight into the tradition and history that bourbon played in the development of this country as well as of Kentucky.  It makes you appreciate the craft and variability that goes into each sip of whiskey and rye.

If you've been to any distilleries I'd love to hear about it, so I can plan my next trip to the Bourbon Trail.  Leave your comments below.